Freud's Theory of Personality Overview

Study Notes

Freud's Theory of Personality Overview

Personality consists of three components: id, ego, and superego.
The ego mediates between the desires of the id and the moral constraints of the superego.
When faced with conflict, the ego employs various defense mechanisms.

Defense Mechanisms

Denial: Refusal to accept the reality of anxiety-inducing situations, e.g., rejecting a cancer diagnosis.
Displacement: Redirecting emotions from a threatening target to a safer one, e.g., expressing frustration at home after work stress.
Intellectualization: Detaching from emotional stress by focusing on intellectual details, e.g., concentrating on funeral logistics rather than grief.
Projection: Attributing one's unacceptable impulses to others, e.g., insulting someone's intelligence when feeling inadequate oneself.
Rationalization: Justifying behaviors with logical reasons instead of acknowledging true motives, e.g., claiming job loss resulted from not being favored rather than poor performance.
Reaction Formation: Exhibiting behaviors or beliefs opposite to one's true feelings to mitigate anxiety, e.g., displaying excessive friendliness toward someone you actually dislike.
Regression: Reverting to earlier developmental behaviors in response to stress, e.g., throwing a tantrum or crying when faced with disappointment.
Repression: Subconsciously blocking out painful memories or thoughts, e.g., forgetting childhood trauma.
Sublimation: Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities, e.g., pursuing boxing for aggression release.
Suppression: Consciously choosing to forget or ignore distressing thoughts, e.g., trying to avoid anxiety-provoking memories.

Description

Explore the key components of Freud's theory of personality, which includes the id, ego, and superego. This quiz highlights how the ego mediates conflicts and employs various defense mechanisms to handle anxiety. Test your understanding of these fundamental concepts in psychoanalysis.